It’s been one other busy week for cruise information, and Cruise Hive has all of it lined, with developments from Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Royal Caribbean.
Cruise Information Replace
It’s time for a deep dive into this week’s high cruise information tales from Cruise Hive, the place we’ve got full protection of Norwegian Cruise Line altering its onboard forex alternate providers, Carnival Cruise Line presumably inserting a multi-ship order with Fincantieri, Holland America Line climbing crew gratuity charges, MSC Cruises cancelling three sailings as a consequence of Center East turmoil, a Royal Caribbean ship rescuing six fishermen and their canine, and Royal Caribbean’s Final World Cruise making waves on social media.
Large Foreign money Alternate Shift at Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line’s international forex alternate providers will grow to be a factor of the previous beginning on February 1, 2024, when a brand new coverage requiring that the U.S. greenback be used to settle all onboard prices takes impact.
The cruise line at present accepts a number of foreign currency echange as a comfort to worldwide friends, and permits cruisers to settle their accounts of their native forex and to alternate forex onboard their ships.
The brand new coverage nixes these providers, and implies that friends who want to settle their onboard accounts with money should achieve this in U.S. {dollars}. It additionally requires that those that have to alternate forex should achieve this earlier than embarkation or at banks or ATMs throughout port calls.
Most cruisers create their onboard accounts utilizing a bank card, however some use money or traveler’s cheques. The cruise line has urged deposit quantities for individuals who use money or traveler’s cheques to determine their account, primarily based on the size of their cruise. For sailings of 8 nights or longer, for example, the deposit ought to be $450 USD per particular person.
Foreign money insurance policies differ by cruise line. At Carnival Cruise Line, forex alternate providers should not supplied, apart from the conversion of Canadian {dollars} on U.S. sailings. Royal Caribbean accepts most foreign currency echange and converts them to U.S. {dollars}.
Carnival Cruise Line Anticipated to Order Mega-Ships
Cruise watchers had been excited to be taught that Carnival Cruise Line is predicted to position a four-ship order with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. Furthermore, the order is prone to be for mega-ships within the vary of 208,000 gross tons, a delivery business commerce journal reported.
Ships that giant can be the most important of the Carnival Cruise Line fleet. Its largest ships crusing immediately are the Excel-class vessels, Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee, all weighing round 180,000 gross tons.
Carnival Cruise Line has not revealed any particulars in regards to the pending order, nonetheless it did affirm that the road expects to have the primary ship delivered in 2027, which means that the shipbuilders would start work pretty quickly, since mega-ships take about two years to assemble.
The estimated price of every vessel in that measurement vary can be about $1.6 billion, so the anticipated order for 4 ships would replicate an funding of almost $7 billion.
If the cruise line strikes ahead with the order, the brand new ships would nonetheless fall wanting its competitor’s largest ship. Royal Caribbean’s new Icon of the Seas, set to sail her maiden voyage on January 27, 2024, is 250,800 gross tons, making her the world’s largest ship afloat.
Holland America Line Hikes Crew Gratuity Charges
Holland America Line, a premium model owned by Carnival Company, is elevating its crew gratuity charges fleet-wide efficient on February 14, 2024.
The day by day cost will rise to $17 per particular person for friends in non-suite cabins and $19 per particular person for these in suites. Present prices are $16 for non-suite friends and $17.50 for suite friends.
The elevated charges shall be charged to friends who booked their cruise on or after January 15, 2024; those that booked earlier than that date can pay the decrease charges.
The cruise line’s new charges replicate a 6% hike for non-suites and eight% for suites. Nevertheless, the final gratuity price enhance was utilized a yr in the past, on February 1, 2023, when the fees rose from $15.50 for non-suite friends and $17 for suite friends.
Evaluating these charges to the brand new, 2024 charges reveals spikes of 9% for non-suite friends and 11% for suite friends. Cruise insiders counsel that extra Carnival Company cruise manufacturers are prone to quickly hike their gratuity charges as properly.
Holland America Line’s crew gratuities stay decrease than some competitor traces, comparable to Royal Caribbean, which prices day by day charges of $18 for non-suites and junior suites, and $20.50 for suites. Norwegian Cruise Line additionally prices extra — $20 for non-suite, and $25 for suites and The Haven.
Crimson Sea Transit Too Dangerous For Three Grand Voyages
Turmoil within the Center East, significantly within the Crimson Sea, prompted MSC Cruises to cancel three Grand Voyage sailings as a consequence of depart in March and April 2024.
The cruise line notified friends booked to sail aboard MSC Splendida, MSC Opera, and MSC Virtuosa that the voyages couldn’t safely go forward as deliberate. All three voyages had been to sail north by way of the Crimson Sea and transit the Suez Canal.
MSC Splendida was scheduled to depart on April 6, 2024 on a 23-night cruise from Durban, South Africa to Civitavecchia, Italy. The voyage was to incorporate calls to Port Louis, Mauritius; Limassol, Cyprus; Rhodes, Greece; Messina, Sicily; and Naples, Italy.
MSC Opera was to depart on a 21-night cruise on April 21, 2024, from Dubai to Genoa, Italy. The itinerary was to name at Abu Dhabi; Sir Bani Yas, UAE; Muscat, Oman; Limassol, Cyprus; and Rhodes and Mykonos, Greece.
MSC Virtuosa on March 30, 2024 was to start a 23-night voyage from Dubai to Southampton, UK. The cruise included calls at Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi; Sir Bani Yas, UAE; Muscat, Oman; Rhodes, Greece; and Barcelona.
The cruise line provided friends alternate options, together with transferring a reserving to the same Grand Voyage, selecting a special cruise, or requesting a full refund.
Ship Rescues Fishermen, Canine within the Gulf of Mexico
Six fishermen from Cozumel, Mexico, and their canine had been rescued on January 16, 2024, within the Gulf of Mexico by Royal Caribbean’s Concord of the Seas, which had departed Galveston, Texas, two days earlier on a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise.
The fishing vessel, Aris, misplaced engine energy and communication on January 14, 2024, and was estimated to be situated some 20 miles from the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Native rescue efforts had been launched and media alerted boats and ships within the space.
Fortunately, crew onboard Concord of the Seas noticed the vessel and dispatched a rescue craft. The entire fishermen and the canine, named Canelo, had been rescued and transferred to Mexican Navy authorities, who returned them to Cozumel.
The 5,479-guest Concord of the Seas continued on her method, with none change to her itinerary. The 226,963-gross-ton ship, an Oasis-class vessel, is looking at Roatan, Honduras, and Costa Maya and Cozumel earlier than returning to Galveston on Sunday, January 21.
Below worldwide maritime regulation, all vessels are required to render help at sea every time crucial.
TikTok Retains ‘Final World Cruise’ in Highlight
Does the outdated saying that each one publicity is sweet publicity applies to Royal Caribbean’s “Final World Cruise,” the 274-night voyage aboard Serenade of the Seas that has grow to be a TikTok sensation?
It relies on who you ask. For visitor and influencer Marc Sebastian, who’s chronicling his expertise of 1 section of the cruise with a sequence of TikTok movies, it does apply, since his sponsor is searching for media publicity. For Royal Caribbean, Sebastian’s movies that present his frustrations are, maybe, not as welcome.
Nevertheless, the social media posts by Sebastian and different “influencers” onboard the ship are maintaining the title of the cruise line and the ship entrance and middle.
Sebastian, whose posts have gone viral, has complained about over-zealous restaurant workers and the varied packages cruisers are inspired to purchase, comparable to for drinks or web service.
Different commenters have posted grievances about what they see as preferential remedy of the cruise line’s loyalty membership members. Providers that members obtain, comparable to unique lounge entry, are frequent, and well-known to seasoned cruisers.
Royal Caribbean seems to be taking its social media stardom in stride, as Serenade of the Seas continues her journey to 150 locations in 65 international locations. Anybody keen to hitch the ship can nonetheless e book segments, which vary from 9 to twenty-eight nights. The cruise concludes in Miami on September 10, 2024.
Extra Cruise Headlines
Now that you just’re updated on the large cruise headlines, try much more business protection from Cruise Hive, together with Carnival Cruise Line receiving a prestigious award in Galveston, Texas, Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Woman calling on the British Virgin Islands for the primary time, a Bahamas shore tour shutting down after a shark chunk, cruise arrivals breaking data at a rising Spanish port, and a ship broken by a rogue wave planning her return to service.
